~ YOUR REALTOR

Monthly Archives: March 2009

With falling buyer interest in new properties on offer, realtors in Chennai are trying hard to drive the resale market to keep business going. Most of the large players appear busy pushing a host of old properties across the city, combining it with an effort to exhaust the existing inventory of apartments.

Land parcels in posh areas, 30-year-old properties, ready-to-occupy dwelling units are up for sale. In value terms, the portfolio of resale properties is estimated to be Rs 800-1,000 crore.

According to an official of HDFC Realty, buyer interest for residential properties appears to be focused on central and southern areas of the city. Kotturpuram, RA Puram, Anna Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Adyar, Thiruvanmayur, Besant Nagar, T Nagar and Mylapore are preferred hotspots, while people are not too keen to move to areas like Porur and Perumbur.

HDFC Realty recently organised a resale fair where leading realtors were marketing a host of properties. Organised players like Artha Money, Cushman & Wakefield, Hanu Reddy Realty, Jones Lang La Salle Meghraj and TSM Enterprises were trying to sell properties of varying vintage at various price points. Alongside, they were making serious bids at reducing their apartment inventories, with clear title being a selling proposition.

Apart from a 2% commission, realtors charge a 10.3% service tax on the commission, for closing a sale.

Not many deals have been signed yet, but there appears to be a significant number of inquiries resulting in site visits. Realtors say, some re-sale transactions are in advanced negotiation stages, while one international property consultant is said to have sold 10 properties in the Rs 40 lakh to Rs 1 crore range. Most of the sales have been in south Chennai.

Among the clutch of properties listed with HDFC Realty, the oldest one is 18-years old, with one being a Rs 1.25 crore, 1,700 sq ft property at Ashok Nagar for resale. According to a company official, site visits are on in central Chennai, and some in Chromepet. The leather belt seems to have caught the the fancy of the Rs 15-30 lakh category of buyers.

However, there are no takers for land even in posh areas. We had included land parcels in our attempts to give the buyer that option too.

Ms Kalpana Murthy, regional manager south of Cushman & Wakefield, says though buyers have not yet made their decisions, there are back-to-back site visits for serious back-to-back site visits for serious buyers. They expect plenty of choice. Selling properties that are old and not vaastu compliant is also a challenge.

The price points appear scattered with prospects looking to invest Rs 30 lakh to Rs 3.5 crore on resale apartments. The average area that they seek is 1,000 sq ft. They are willing to invest Rs 8-10 crore per ground (1 ground = 2,400 sq ft) to get land in prime locations.

The price points appear scattered with prospects looking to invest Rs 30 lakh to Rs 3.5 crore on resale apartments. The average area that they seek is 1,000 sq ft. They are willing to invest Rs 8-10 crore per ground (1 ground = 2,400 sq ft) to get land in prime locations.

In its resale portfolio, Cushman has either a developer’s stock or those wanting to simply sell. A bulk of 35 properties are in the OMR area, while other double-digit property listings are in places like Adyar, Anna Nagar, Kilpauk, ECR, MRC Nagar, Nungambakkam, Mylapore and Velachery.